The Stupid Idea
by mistressmarionette
Summary: That age old question: How did Jinx end up with Kid Flash? Set between Old School and Jinxed For Life.
1. Chapter 1

So, three stories at once! I am possibly biting off more than I can chew. But this should only last three to five chapters, so hopefully not? For those of you who have not read Old School or Jinxed for Life (and I suggest you do, or a lot of this won't make sense), a Dramatis Personae:

Appearing Live:

Jinx: Jaya Sandavas

Johnny Rancid: Jonathan (Johnny) Sykes

Kid Flash: Wallace (Wally) West

Mentioned in Passing:

See-More: Seymour Evans

Kyd Wykkyd: Elliot Knight

Billy Numerous: William Jones

Mammoth: Montego Lopez

Gizmo: Vito Giovanni

Private HIVE: Bailey Frinze-Perez

Angel: Angelica Imbracht

X.L. Terrestrial: Xilo

A small thing between Old School and Jinxed For Life. That age-old question: How did Jinx finally come to be with Kid Flash?

* * *

**Chapter One**

Jinx looked down at the clothes laid out on what was left of her bed, no thanks to an arrogant red-head who had seen fit to demolish her room.

It was like he had _predicted _she would have this stupid idea.

She had promised herself that she wouldn't take everything, because there was just no way that she could carry all that bulk. She had limited herself to the green plaid skirt, the gray shorts, the gray, green, and blue sweaters and the special pink and black striped sweater, the dark skinny jeans, a black and a white t-shirt, headbands and hair ties that matched each set. Plain flat shoes, ornamental flat shoes, the heeled suede boots, and stockings. Underwear, bras. Hair care supplies. Make-up. Her top ten CDs (Gizmo had tried and failed to get her on board with MP3-players.) A blank sketchbook, just in case she suddenly felt like drawing for the first time in ages. There was her costume to think of too, but really, she thought, if she was serious about trying out this normal thing, did she really need it?

She was wearing her pink t-shirt and her black skirt, and her head-kicker combat boots because that damn red-head made her want to feel dangerous and able to kick heads. Her hair was down, no gel, and subsequently an annoying cloud of pink wisp flying away past her black headband. She wasn't wearing make-up, and her skin itched without it.

If she took the costume, she would have to leave something else behind. The suede boots? But it was so hard to find shoes for her tiny feet. Maybe a few of the CDs…or all of the CDs.

"You can always buy more stuff later," She told herself. Assuming she could get a job. Assuming she would have money to burn. Assuming any of this shit-for-brains plan worked.

It wasn't even a good plan. It was probably her worst plan ever, but she hadn't run it by Vito so she wasn't sure. She hadn't told anyone what she planned to do. Not even Elliot, who would never tell. Not even Seymour, who would tell her to stay.

It wasn't them. It honestly wasn't them. They were being the same as ever, the same brothers who kept her sane and drove her insane, who listened to her and didn't listen to her because they already knew what she was going to say, because they had been stuck together in this mess of a life for the last five, six years and it was driving them all crazy. Small wonder Angelica had taken off for Los Angeles to "find her roots", and Bailey had developed his awful depression that had made him leave, and Xilo was traipsing about somewhere in another galaxy. They needed space.

And now she did too. Simple as that.

The idea was this. She would stop using her powers, find some way to explain her hair, skin, eyes, appearance in general, and magically start a new, normal life.

Stupid.

The truth was, she really didn't have a plan. At all. She had a generic fantasy in which things somehow worked out, but the actual action which would bring her to that point was completely beyond her.

What she _did _know was that she had written a concise note telling them, her brothers, that she would be gone for a while, and not to worry because she was perfectly capable of tying her own shoes. And that she didn't want Billy to breathe a word about the dangers of a girl going off by herself, because this was the twenty-first century, damn it, and he could keep his conservative opinions about gender-roles behind his teeth because she was _not_ going to get gang-raped, for the love, she was a big girl now and not even the kind that anyone would target for something like that. And that if anybody tried to track her, _especially_ Elliot, they would have a nasty surprise coming. And that if Seymour asked around, if people came up to Jinx telling her that he was worried…if Montego called up Angelica…if Bailey suddenly snapped out of his depression and came back…if Vito locked himself in his room and refused to come out…

She shook her head.

Anyway, she was staying at Johnny's tonight. Johnny always let people stay at his place, and he was always reliable for keeping secrets. If she asked, he wouldn't tell a soul that he had seen her.

And after that, what then? Mooch off of Johnny until she got a job? Leave town? Get an obscure job through one of Seymour's connections? But those were _Seymour's_ connections. Didn't she have to ask permission or something? She was so used to him offering. She had never just taken off on initiative like this before, without telling him beforehand. Without telling _somebody_.

It was so stupid. All of it.

What really burned about this whole thing was that it was all because of that stupid red-head.

That _Kid Flash_.

Mr. You're Better Than This.

_"__Trust_ me."

She wasn't better. She really wasn't. If she was, none of this would have happened. She would have stayed in India, and her mother wouldn't have given her that perpetual look of confusion, as if she couldn't understand what had happened. Her mother. She thought Jinx didn't know, and Jinx knew perfectly that neither of them was human. Well, fully human. Jinx was half. Her mother? Who knew _what_ she was. A goddess. A monster. Jinx had gone through an encyclopedia once, looked up every kind of being recorded. There was no definite match for what her mother was. A creature of luck, who hid her appearance under coffee-colored skin, and deep, deep eyes…?

_Stop it._

Jinx had burned her few pictures of home. Was it strange if she still remembered every detail perfectly?

Jinx glanced at the clock; it was three in the morning. Even her dysfunctional siblings would be in bed by now. The time was right.

She wouldn't take her costume. If she needed it, she could always come back.

She hefted her bag onto her back, wincing at the weight. No, she couldn't get muscles built into her like Montego. She couldn't be born a lean, mean, able-to-ignore-pain fighting machine like Billy. She couldn't build a machine to carry things for her like Vito. She didn't have Seymour's powers of persuasion to convince somebody else to do the work, or Elliot's ability to just make her and the bag suddenly be elsewhere.

She could make things stop working. Or blow up. With extra effort, she could throw thin force fields. She was skinny, and graceful, which didn't amount to beans. She had a tendency to yell instead of employing graceful deportment anyway, so there you go. Her skin was strange. Her eyes scared people. Her stupid, pink (of all colors!) fly-away hair was getting in her eyes, and she couldn't spare a hand to brush the strands away.

The sheer, stupid luck of it all.

* * *

He wondered if it was stupid to think he had struck some kind of chord. Made an impression? Given her an idea? It disturbed him that anyone could seem so unhappy. Worse, that someone could seem so unhappy and the people around her could ignore it so easily. 

Jerks. It was heartless.

And so shallow. He had just been generally curious at first, but just watching her had put everything into focus. She _radiated_ with energy, angry energy. It bounced off the others as if they were mirrors. There was a serious disconnect; no wonder their team was so dysfunctional. She _wanted_ things; did they even know what ambition was? It was as if they were bored with life. So arrogant. So _shallow_.

He knew he was being pretty arrogant himself, but he really thought he could do something here. If she wanted that help, he wanted to be there for her. Who else would she get it from? The adults in her life were…well, look at Madame Rouge. That was her idea of an idol. And her peers…forget it. As some passage from some holy text went, the seeds cast on shallow ground don't grow.

But that energy he had seen; it had to _mean_ something. Didn't it? He had never seen that kind of drive in anyone except, well, himself.

Arrogant.

But it was _true._ There was a connection. There had to be.

He had holed himself up in his apartment---courtesy of the Teen Titans, for as long as he wanted to use it---for the night, but he couldn't stop pacing. And thinking. He wondered what else she drew. He wondered what kind of TV she liked to watch. She didn't strike him as a mystery type; she probably figured out who the murderer was halfway through the show. He wondered if she watched TV at all. Maybe she hated TV. Or maybe she was one of those people who could watch a cartoon without making fun of it.

_That_ would be an unlikely dream-come-true.

He made himself sit down and breathe. It was so late in the night. Or early in the morning. Whatever. Jump City was under his jurisdiction. He needed to focus on that. He couldn't remember the last time he had stayed up this late. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so restless.

Wally couldn't remember the last time he had been so excited.

Stupid. It probably wouldn't even go anywhere.

All the same….


	2. Chapter 2

I will openly admit it: I have read KF fan's recent fiction "Journal", and was very interested in some of the ideas presented in the first chapter; they gave me a new perspective on certain matters within the Titans' universe. You may recognize a few of them in this chapter, mainly concerning the Titans' position in Titans Tower (anything else was probably subconscious). I credit KF fan for these insights, and encourage you to read everything written by KF fan because each story is a gem.

If you have questions about my perceptions of Johnny Rancid, check chapter 7 of Old School. And review while you're at it. :)

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Was it a fight?" Were the first words out of Johnny's mouth when he opened his door to Jinx.

She slipped her arms around him quickly for a hug and squeezed before he could shrug her off. Johnny didn't like hugs. He was probably self-conscious about people getting too close to the area where his heart wasn't. Jinx didn't care.

"Was it Billy? I know how you two get," He took her bag and set it carefully on the couch. "He doesn't mean half of what he says."

"I know. It wasn't Billy. Thanks for letting me over so late," Jinx added sweetly.

Johnny shrugged. "Whatever. You're always welcome." There was an awkward beat. "Well, I've got work tomorrow. You know where everything is. Night."

Jinx chuckled silently as he left. She fished around in her bag for her hair brush, and had begun yanking it through her hair when she realized something.

She didn't have her communicator. Or her locket.

Or maybe she did? She felt through the pockets of the bag. The pockets of her skirt. Around her neck.

No communicator. No locket.

The locket was her mother's. She had stolen it before they had sent her to Darkway Prep. She thought it had her mother's secret of hiding what she was, like magic powder or something. It didn't. It was quartz, and pretty, but it didn't do anything to her skin or hair. In fact, it was probably better if she didn't have it. She didn't need her mother's relics.

The communicator though…she chewed her lip. Even if she had brought it, she wouldn't have used it. Or at least, she hadn't planned on using it. If an emergency came up…

…She would solve it for herself. Safety lines would hold her back anyway.

Resolved, she set about making Johnny's couch comfortable.

* * *

It wasn't that Kid Flash was getting impatient. He wasn't half-speeding around town in his civilian clothes because he was _looking_ for her. She would come in her own time. Some day. Eventually. 

He wasn't getting impatient.

He was just tired of waiting.

* * *

Jinx's powers, contrary to popular belief, were not outside of her control. They certainly weren't inside her control, but it wasn't nearly as bad as some other girls. Jinx's powers came with warning signals. If something was about to blow up in her face, her trusty powers made a little ringing in her ears, and she knew to step away from the glassware. 

A little ringing in your ears was very hard to detect when you were blasting Metric's "Old World Underground" over the sound of the construction outside.

Johnny's blender was in pieces, which were mostly in her skin. Of course, people broke his stuff all the time, so she didn't feel that bad about it. She knew she was lucky nothing had hit her eyes.

_Lucky…oh, irony._

She winced as she plucked another plastic splinter from her arm.

She had decided to try not using her powers for a while, just for kicks. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Maybe she had just been over-exerting herself lately, with heist after heist. Seymour had suggested that one night when five of the twenty-three jewels they had made off with burst into smaller jewels in her hands. Of course, she had hit him for saying that…

She wasn't like Raven. People didn't die when she was on her period. And she was much better than Terra. She knew how to calm down, or get revved up, whatever the situation required. But every once in a while, things just happened.

There was one shard left, and it was in _deep_.

Jinx grit her teeth. If Billy was here, she wouldn't even have to look at these. He'd just pluck them out, one by one, lecturing her about being more careful or something, to keep her angry. Anger was the best way to stave off pain, according to Billy. He _would_ know, being HIVE's resident medical wreck.

She tugged. Hard. It wouldn't give. And it hurt.

This wasn't working.

It had been two days. Jinx didn't want to stay with Johnny forever. Johnny was sweet, but everybody went to his place to crash. If she stayed too long, Billy would show up looking to use the couch for the night, and then the whole plan would be wasted.

She was wearing the green plaid skirt, black t-shirt, and the headband for the skirt because plaid reminded her of Braveheart and she wanted to exude brave.

If she slipped on her boots, she'd be ready to go.

* * *

And then, like a dream, there she was. 

He had no idea what she was doing in one of the worst parts of town. Well, he did. But he didn't know what she was doing there with a duffel bag and that awful scowl on her face. And wearing…

"You know," He said companionably when he caught up to her. "I would not, at first glance, have taken green as a good color for you, but it _works_." He wondered if she would recognize him in civilian clothes as easily as he recognized her.

"Thank you, Kid Flash," Jinx replied. Yep. She recognized him. "However, my headache is already quite large and bloated without your help."

"Ah. Is something wrong?"

"Hangover. I got totally wasted last night with my man-harem, and am now walking it off."

"Really? Well, then, allow me to compliment the, uh, range you've accomplished with that."

She stopped. He obediently paused as well. "Have you ever heard of sarcasm?"

"Yes, but nobody passes it off quite as gracefully as you," He said sweetly. She gave him an ugly look, and he cocked his head to the side. "What happened to your arms?"

Jinx looked down at the bandaging. "A blender attacked me."

"I'm sorry. You look very tired," He continued.

She nodded reluctantly. "I need coffee."

"Coffee?" Kid Flash raised his eyebrows. "What for? That stuff is awful!"

"Excuse you?" She said icily.

"Well," He shrugged. "It's bitter."

"That's why you add sugar."

"Caffeine is bad for you," He continued. "Stunts your growth. Do you drink coffee a lot? How tall are you without those boots?"

She rolled her eyes and started walking again. He caught the strap of her bag. "Want me to carry that?"

"I'm a big girl, Kid," She said, tugging her bag free. "I tie my own boots and everything."

"Well," He said, "You're not going to be a very big girl if you keep drinking coffee. Are you going far?" He asked. "I could speed things up a bit for you."

"I'm not going far."

"Where are you going?"

"Like I'm going to tell you."

"Well, I'll probably find out anyway."

She rounded on him. "Did you know that even supers can get arrested for stalking?"

"But would people call it stalking? They'd probably just congratulate me for keeping a close eye on a criminal."

She scowled. "Of course they would."

"I don't condone it," He added. "Especially since that's not the case here."

"What is the case?"

"You interest me."

"Your pickup lines have taken a dive."

"Pickup lines?" He stopped, wrinkling his eyebrows. "What pickup lines?"

She sneered. "Let me guess. This is where you go, "Hitting on you? Me? I'm just naturally charming!" Right?"

Kid Flash grinned. "You took the words right out of my mouth."

She sighed. "Goodbye, Kid Flash."

"Wait!" He sped in front of her. "I'm sorry if I'm being really nosey, but you look really tired. How do I know you're not just going to collapse in the street?"

"Because I'm not going to!" She tried to duck left, but he blocked her. She turned and began walking in the opposite direction.

"Don't you need to go this way?" He called after her.

"No!"

He sped up to her. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"I didn't realize. You don't have anywhere to go, huh?" He hoped he didn't sound smug. He tried to make eye contact. "Did you just leave them?"

She glared at him for a second, but the ice seemed to melt. A little. "I left two days ago."

"You haven't been on the street?" No way. On the hunt, so to speak, the way he had been for the past day, and he hadn't noticed?

"No. I've been at a friend's."

"A friend to society?"

"Decidedly not." Now she looked smug. "He works at some garage. Every gang wants him. He's completely heartless."

"He didn't do that to your arms, did he?"

"No, he didn't!" She snapped. "I told you, it was the blender."

He crossed his arms. "How did the blender do that?"

"Because," She said. "It blew up."

"Oh." He scrutinized the bandaging. It was a pretty patchy job, as doctoring goes. "You want me to rebind those?"

"No, thank you," She said curtly.

"You want a drink then? Not coffee," He said quickly. "Tea? My treat."

He knew a café down the street. She looked dubious when they went inside.

"Have you ever been here?" He whispered.

"Never. I know better places."

"Okay, let's go there instead."

"Let's not," She said, suddenly sounding more tired than he had guessed.

"Go sit," He pushed in her the direction of the tables. "I'll order."

He was surprised when she didn't take off. He was even more surprised when he made it all the way back to the table with her tea, and she was still there.

"I guess you really are tired," He commented, placing her tea in front of her. "Anything you want to tell me?"

"The guy I was staying with really didn't do anything to me," She said. "I don't want you getting any funny ideas. He's not as bad as I was saying. Gangs want him, but he says no to everybody."

Kid Flash shrugged. "Well, good to know."

"And my leaving the HIVE Five had nothing to do with you."

He smirked at that. "Okay."

"Things were fucked up anyway. I need space. Everybody has pulled something like this before, I'm just the latest. Billy and Elliot are always---"

"Jinx," He said, putting up a hand to stop her. "Do you really want to tell me all of this?"

She frowned. "You were going to drag it out of me eventually. I might as well get it over with."

"Well…if you don't want to tell me, it's okay. I'm not saying _don't_ tell me," He added quickly. "If there's ever anything you want to tell me, I'm all ears. I just don't want you to think you have to or anything."

She gave him an odd look. "You sound like a guidance counselor."

He shrugged, raking a hand through his hair. "If that's what you need."

She sniffed her tea and took a sip. "They used to bring in shrinks at HIVE. They're all fucked up. It's like teachers, you know? If you can't do, teach. If you're fucked up in the head…give counsel to other fucked up people."

"Um…Jinx…"

"Am I freaking you out?"

"No, but you might be freaking out those mothers over there," He pointed to a trio of concerned parents at another table. "A little less f-bomb?"

She blushed. Bless her, she actually blushed. "Sorry. Habit."

"It's okay. I don't mean to give you social cues. Sorry." He grinned sheepishly, and hoped she didn't think he was a snob.

"No, it's cool," She said, drinking deep.

He frowned. "Do you want to go somewhere else?"

She raised her eyebrows. "I just said---"

"This doesn't feel right. Talking here. Too…I don't know. Exposed?"

"Now you sound like a criminal."

"Well, I might as well be. I've got things to protect. Identity and all that."

"Hmmph. And your pick of any location. I suppose you're staying in the Tower."

"Um…no. It's too big for me," He admitted. "They gave me the access codes and all, but all I have to do is check on it every once in a while."

"That's a waste of a view," She said.

"You've been up there?"

"A year or two ago. We took over the Tower."

"Oh. That's…um."

"It sucks, though, because nobody else in the city gets a view like that." She put down her cup. "They all move here for the surf and fun, and what do they get? A huge, obnoxious _letter_ sticking out of the horizon. It really ruins things."

"It's a strategic point," Kid Flash said carefully.

"It's hella---sorry, _hecka_---far away from everybody else. It's _obnoxious_. Are they afraid they'll get people germs? I mean, what's up with that?"

"Hey," Kid Flash put his elbows on the table and looked at her seriously. "They're working out there, you know. It's not like they just picked that spot because they thought it was the best. It _is_ a strategic point, and of course it's removed. It wouldn't do any good if the Titans got tangled up in everyday affairs; people would be put in danger. That's what we're _protecting_ people from."

"You're not living in the Tower."

"But I'm doing everything I can to keep my private life on the DL. For people's _protection_. You get what I'm saying, right?" He asked. "I mean, we're not out here to make a statement about ourselves. Just to help people."

Jinx took a sip of her tea. "You make a good speech. That's not sarcasm," She clarified quickly. "I don't agree with you, but that wasn't sarcasm. Honestly, I think the whole thing is a load. You guys don't _need_ a Tower, or half the financing you get. I _know_ about the monthly salary, and it doesn't all go to technology engineered for fighting the bads. You guys get a bunch of fringe benefits."

"For risking our lives," Kid Flash interjected.

"Well, a fireman risks his life. All he gets is a paycheck. And with all the _other_ bad happening, you guys are barely keeping up with your job anyway."

"What other bad?"

"Politicians."

"That is not even the beginning of fair. Politicians pay us---"

"Which makes you a form of bad, because a politician who funds the Teen Titans is going to have the popularity vote of the people. Even if his policies are ridiculous."

"And we get influence over him, and can quietly intervene if something is going off."

"_You_ can?" She scoffed. "A bunch of kids."

"Well, a bunch of kids can rob a bank. All those Mission Impossibles and Ocean's However-Many make it look like walking through Hell."

"_Language_, young man," She said sweetly. "Robbing a bank is easy. People are very stupid."

"Who's afraid of getting people germs now?"

"There's more to it."

"Well, same here. So we're agreed."

"Agreed on what? We've barely started debating!"

"That's okay," Kid Flash shrugged. "We don't have to debate right now. You're tired."

Jinx laughed. "So you're forfeiting!"

"I am agreeing to disagree for the moment."

"Forfeiting. I win."

"You win what?"

"The glorious feeling that comes with winning a debate."

"But we've barely debated!"

"You forfeited."

"Who says someone has to win or lose?"

Jinx shook her head. "How old are you turning this year? That's how it works. One person wins, everybody else loses. You learn that when you're, like, three."

"What about runner-ups?"

"Fancy term for loser."

"That," said Kid Flash, "Is a very harsh way of looking at things."

"Life is harsh. We can't all hide in our Towers."

"Or our Secret Evil Lairs."

She breathed deep, and sighed slowly. "This is different than I thought you were going to be."

"You were thinking about me?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows.

She glared at him witheringly. "I figured you would be bouncing out of your seat."

"Well, I don't condone caffeine, so my self-control is pretty good in that respect." He leaned in conspiratorially. "Of course, if I ever did drink caffeine, I'd probably get so high you wouldn't be able to see me standing right in front of you, I'd be vibrating so fast."

Other girls would have giggled. He was sure of it. "Well," She drained the last of her tea. "It's been very…interesting talking with you. Really. I'm not being sarcastic. But I have to go."

"Off to secure lodgings for tonight?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes."

"At another friend's?"

She paused. Finally, she said, "No. They all know me as a HIVE student."

"Is that…bad?"

"The guys will know where to find me."

"And _that's_ bad."

"I was thinking about going to a hotel."

"How are you going to pay?"

"With money."

"Stolen money?"

She glared at him. "I just want space. Can't a girl get space?"

"Exactly. So, here's my idea." He smiled brightly. "Come stay at my space."

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

Hey yo! So, another chapter, number three of six as I have decided, unless something comes up. Just wanted to let everybody know (again) there are two other stories/collections tied to this: "Old School", which is a prequel containing various historical goodies about Jinx and all her friends at the HIVE Academy, and "Jinxed For Life", which takes place after the Brotherhood of Evil incident, and follows Jinx as she learns/is forced to balance the Titans and the HIVE in her life. If you read all three of these, then you will never be confused about what is going on! (And if you review, I'll be encouraged to continue writing!) G'night everybody!

EDIT: Hey yo. Again. Just went through and fixed a couple typos. Probably not all of them, but oh well.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Kid Flash's apartment was in a disgustingly nice neighborhood, with a doorman and people who said things like "Hello" and "Goodbye" on the elevator. There were very few flaws in the structure, except that it had the unfortunate tendency to make sense, which made Jinx very suspicious. Buildings were not supposed to make sense. They were supposed to make the least sense possible, to throw off would-be invaders and the like. Any building that made this much sense was just asking for it.

His actual space was made of three rooms: kitchen, living room, bed room. There was a small bathroom near it. The kitchen was stocked to overflowing, and the TV screen in the living room was strangely small compared to the mammoth sizes she was accustomed to her friends insisting they "purchase", so to speak.

He wanted her to have the bed.

"It's only right. I want you to be comfortable."

"And I don't want people getting funny ideas!" She snapped back.

"What's so funny? It's not like I'm in there with you."

"Repeat these words. "I slept in Kid Flash's bed." Just try saying them, out of context."

"I slept in…oh."

She nodded emphatically. "If I am indeed staying in this…_facility_, then I am sleeping on the couch."

He put up his hands in surrender. "Well, at least let me make you dinner."

"No thank you."

"Hey, come on. I'm a great cook, really."

"I'm tired," Jinx said quickly.

"But---" Something buzzed, and he pulled out a communicator. "Oh. Well, I have to go. Please don't mess up my place."

"Oh, you're funny! I like irony. Don't worry, house wrecking isn't one of _my_ habits."

He blushed. "Look, um…I wanted to apologize about that. Your room. I don't usually just barge into people's rooms. I really try to respect people's privacy."

Jinx snorted, remembering the uncountable times she had found Elliot reclined on her bed, flipping through her old sketchbooks, acting like he owned the place.

"Well, help yourself to whatever you want," He said, gesturing around. "I'll be back soon."

He left. She nearly collapsed on the couch.

Never so tired in her life. Never so frustrated. Never so annoyed.

Never so confused.

"What was so bad about a hotel?" She asked no one.

This was the beginning of it. Staying over one night, accepting a free meal if she ever got hungry. Next he'd be referencing to it in public, and people would ask, "What were _you_ doing last night?" Never mind whether or not she had been in his bed. You didn't have to get into somebody's bed to get fucked over.

She had come here because she was tired and fed up. There was no other explanation. She was tired, and getting a little desperate.

And it was admittedly nice talking to somebody with whom opinions had not been established in concrete. Opinions tended to be a group activity with the HIVE. All or nothing. It helped keep the peace, such as it was, if people just agreed on one train of thought that worked for everybody.

Kid Flash was kind of a wuss when it came to arguing, though. Nobody she knew would have given in that easily in any debate.

She tapped her bag with one foot. She should change. Wash her face, brush her hair. Set up shop…

* * *

It had been a small bank robbery. No notable villains, just regular guys in ski masks. It was all very old school and relaxed, like something off an old-time cop show, nothing too flashy. Kid Flash forced himself to patrol for a few more minutes before going home. 

It had not, honestly, occurred to him that he was inviting a _girl_ to stay at his place, and now that Jinx had brought that to his attention he was a little self-conscious. He had known that he was inviting a person-he-wanted-to-be-of-assistance-to, but gender had conveniently slipped his mind. He wondered if he was giving off weird signals. He wondered if she thought he was trying to get into her skirt.

He wondered if he had remembered to clean up the bathroom.

He zoomed in the door, and was very confused when he did not find her in the kitchen or the bathroom. He chanced a glance into his bed room, and was relieved when she wasn't there. _Why_ wasn't his room clean? He wasn't usually a slob…or maybe what little mess there was there was just heightened by the presence of Girl in the vicinity.

Had she left? There was no noise in the house, not even…

Oh, there she was. Conked out on the couch, still dressed, still with a little makeup on. No blanket, no pillow. Had he told her where those were? Did he even have spares?

He did. He dug them out and covered her quickly. It was November, after all. How could she just fall asleep like that, when it wasn't even warm…?

Then again, how could she wear skirts and t-shirts when it was this cold?

At least she was sleeping now. She had looked so tired. Truth be told, there had been so little of the energy from before. It was scary, and a little bit disappointing. Maybe she would feel better in the morning.

He glanced at the clock. It was only eight. And with her sleeping, he couldn't even watch TV. In his _own apartment_. He sighed. Nobody had said it was going to be easy…

He would make pancakes in the morning. And they would talk about her plans, her future. She so obviously didn't have a clue as to what to do next. He could help with that. He would.

According to the note, he had had to leave earlier in the morning to take care of "business downtown". Jinx hoped it wasn't anybody she knew.

There was a stack of pancakes on the table, which, according to the note, were for her. She had nibbled on one. Kid Flash had not lied, he was a good cook.

But they weren't Montego's pancakes. They didn't have cinnamon in them.

It was so stupid that pancakes could make her nostalgic for the guys. She decided to take a shower.

In two seconds, Jinx was able to come to several conclusions.

One was that Kid Flash was very self conscious. There was no such thing as a guy's bathroom so clean as his. And he had had plenty of time to clean it last night. What time _had_ she fallen asleep…?

Second, Kid Flash was incredibly vain. He had three different soaps on the rack, and various brands of shampoo and conditioner "arranged" on the counter. Either he was experimenting to see which one was best, or he was using them all, she couldn't tell. They were all half-empty.

One of them was Herbal Essences.

And so, her third conclusion was that Kid Flash was homosexual, or at least flirting with homosexuality. Or he was at least bisexual. He appreciated men. Something like that.

Well, whatever. Beggars couldn't choose their gay hosts.

* * *

The business downtown had taken longer than he had thought, so he rushed back to the building, straight up the stairs, into his apartment, and had shot into the bathroom and shot right back out when he realized that the water was running and Jinx was very naked. 

In two seconds, Kid Flash was able to come to several conclusions.

One was that Jinx was not shy. She had not flinched at the intrusion (if she had noticed it; he _was_ one of the fastest beings alive), and he could not hear any screaming or shouting or demands for an explanation. This was a big relief, since the situation was embarrassing enough.

Second was that Jinx had very beautiful, flawless skin. No spots or anything. It was rather pretty, glistening the way she had under the water…

The third was that Jinx was anorexic. She was ridiculously thin, and Kid Flash had been able to count her ribs (Twenty-four, naturally. Whoever had come up with that silly idea about women having more ribs than men was just an idiot). Her hip bones and shoulder blades stretched out her skin like…like…well, they _did._ And not only that, but she hadn't eaten the pancakes. And they were _good_ pancakes.

Kid Flash was prepared to sit down and wait for her to come storming out of the bathroom when he heard an odd sound.

A blow-dryer.

She was _blow-drying_ her hair. After he, a member of the male species, had, albeit accidently, taken a look at her in her naked glory. This wasn't typical female behavior, was it?

Five agonizing minutes later, she appeared, wrapped in one of his towels, which was sufficient for covering up your waist and the nether regions below, but barely covered her from the top of what should have been hidden to the bottom.

"Oh," She said, looking surprised. "Are you still here? You took off so quickly, I figured you had left again."

"I am _so sorry_ about that," Kid Flash began quickly. "I didn't think---"

She giggled. "Calm down, it's fine."

He shook his head adamantly. "No, it's not! I just barged in---"

She snorted. "Big deal." His jaw dropped, and she snorted again. "What, you think you're the first boy to see me naked? I really don't care. It's not like there's much to see."

Was he supposed to say, "Oh yes there is, there is a _lot_ to see, don't kid yourself, you're sexy!" Or was he supposed to say, "Quite right, I'm overreacting, let's forget about the whole thing!"?

"Look," She said, snapping suddenly. "I'm not a slut. But I've been living with boys long enough that I know not to get worked up about this stupid stuff, okay? If I had not learned how to deal with nudity and voyeurism by now, I would be a very pathetic person." She finger-combed her fluffy, freshly dried hair, succeeding in catching her fingers in new tangles. With a small snarl, she pulled her hand free. "Besides, what do you care?"

"It's embarrassing," He said lamely.

"Why?" She brushed past him and began picking clothes out of her bag. "You're gay, so whatever."

Gay?

_What?_

"Um, maybe I didn't hear you correctly."

She waved his comment away with her dainty little fingers. "Don't worry, I won't tell your fangirls."

"Tell them _what?_"

"That you are homosexual, or at least have some admiration for the same sex." She pulled out a pair of jeans and underwear, and began slipping them on under the towel. Blushing, Kid Flash looked away.

"How do you figure that, exactly?"

"Kid Flash, don't think you can play coy with me. I'm a girl. We invented coy."

"And what, exactly, have I done for you to think I am _gay?_"

She gave him a bored look over her shoulder. "You have a Herbal Essences product in your bathroom."

"Th-that was a _sample! _I can't help what people send to me!"

"Yeah, but you actually _used_ some of it."

"Well, who am I to deny free samples?"

She rolled her eyes. "Keep telling yourself that. Besides, your bathroom is disgustingly clean."

"I cleaned it for _you_!"

"Really?" She wrinkled her nose. "Why?"

"Because you're a guest? Because it's polite? Because I was worried about your comfort?" He remembered just in time not to turn around, and gave the wall an exasperated look. "Are you dressed yet?"

He heard her chuckle pityingly. "Kid Flash, I have been living with boys for the last six years. I am well aware of the faults and virtues of the male species. I do not give a rat's ass if you see me naked, so turn around so we can talk for real."

"Does that mean you're dressed?"

"Nearly. You are such a prude."

"I was raised that way."

"Okay, I'm "decent". Turn around."

He did. She was wearing the jeans, and a plain black t-shirt, and was pulling out a sweater. She frowned. "This is not the sweater I thought I grabbed…is this even mine?"

It was a black hoodie with faded writing that Kid Flash couldn't read scribbled all over it. Jinx shrugged and pulled it on. Then she pulled out a bag of make up and a hand mirror and sat down to paint her face. Kid Flash decided to take a chance and just ask.

"While we're discussing strange habits and…assumptions, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure," She said.

"Okay…how much do you normally eat?"

"Hm? Oh, the pancakes were good."

"That has nothing to do with the question," Kid Flash said, frowning. First sign: dodging questions. "And what do you mean they were good, you didn't even eat them."

"I ate one," She said, brushing foundation on. "And it was good."

"Okay, well, back to the question."

"I eat when I'm hungry."

"Which would be?"

She pulled out a stick of eyeliner. "I'm not following you."

"You weren't hungry last night. Unless you ate something else, and I will admit that I haven't checked my fridge yet, so you might have done that, but in the event you have not, you did not eat this morning. The last thing I saw you consume with my own eyes was a cup of tea, and that was in the very early afternoon."

She spared him a quick glance, which was now dark and kohl-lined. "I'm sorry, but I completely lost track of what you were saying in that one sentence."

"I haven't seen you eat solid food, Jinx." He sighed. "Look, I'm probably being really nosy, but…like, is there a problem? Are you…I don't know…"

"Anorexic?" She said sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes against her mascara brush. "Not to my knowledge."

Second sign: denial.

"Do you dislike food?"

"No," She said, now frowning. "I don't think so, anyway."

"Are you afraid of getting fat?"

"Not particularly. It's never happened."

"Well, maybe that's because you don't eat," He said sharply.

She smiled, the essence of patience, as she applied blush. "It's not as if I never eat."

"Well, you don't eat enough," Kid Flash raked a hand through his hair. "Look, half my job is being a freak about health, so sorry if I'm getting on your case."

"It's fine. I don't care."

"But why don't you eat? Don't you want to?"

She seemed to think about this seriously for a moment. Finally, she shrugged. "I don't know. It's food. You put it in your mouth. It's not that big of a deal." She puckered her lips for lipstick.

"Tell that to millions of kids starving in Africa."

She wagged a finger at him, blowing a kiss with her now-bright lips. "Oh, no you don't. I had teachers who pulled that same one on me."

"Maybe they were trying to tell you something."

"Maybe they were full of shit. Excuse me. Crap. Stuff? I don't know. What works with your language radar?"

"Stuff, thank you."

"You're kind of anal."

"You're kind of underweight." He was, as they say, losing it. More in sadness than anger, of course. Reel in, deep breaths. At least she was energetic now. He'd wanted that, hadn't he? Sort of. He had wanted that energy he saw during the heist, not…this.

Not that this was bad. It was actually kind of cute. Or it would have been, if they hadn't been talking about her diet.

She stood, pushing something into her pocket. Lipstick or something, no doubt. "Well, see you later."

"Are you going somewhere?"

"No, I thought I would get dressed and _mettrais__ le maquillage_ just to look nice for you," She rolled her eyes. "That means put on make up. It was also a hint, though I'm sure you have no idea for what. Yes, Kid Flash, I am exercising my right as a human and going somewhere." She pulled out a rubber band and tied back her hair. "So, _au revoir_."

"What time will you be back?"

She put a hand on her hip and pouted at him. "Are you setting a curfew?"

"I'm usually in bed by ten or so. I thought you might want to know that, since the door will be locked."

She gasped mockingly and put a dainty hand over her heart. "The door will be _locked_? Oh, heavens, whatever shall I do?" She smirked. "Pardon my French, but a retarded three-year-old could get through your door. Thank goodness I'm a big girl."

"Could have fooled me," He said, shrugging carelessly. "You sure don't _weigh_ as much as one."

As he watched her leave with a wiggle and a wave, he finally noticed that she wasn't wearing boots, just plain black flats. She was oddly short without them. _Definitely_ a lot cuter.

He shook his head. Nobody had said it was going to be easy…

* * *

So much better to be out of his place. So much more room to be angry and spiteful and violent. 

She took the stairs, the better to pound out her anger without blowing something up. Her ears were ringing so much she was afraid the drums might pop.

Small wonder he had been fine to talk to yesterday; she had been tired. Being tired was like being drunk; you couldn't control your thought process. But not today. Today she was in control, and she realized that this _gaynosynerdbastard_ was not worth the effort of taking seriously.

_"I cleaned it for YOU!"_

"Further proof that you are GAY. You GAY RETARD."

_"I don't usually just barge into people's rooms."_

"PEOPLE'S rooms. Obviously I don't count! Obviously it's fine for you to play Room Raiders with MY things, with my...!"

_"Why don't you eat?"_

"Because I want to be a swimsuit model one day! Because I'm a dancer, didn't you know dancers don't eat? Because I think it would just make me PRETTIER, it'd just FIX the damn skin and hair, don't you think?

"Because my best friend is scared of food, and I feel like a jerk stuffing my face in front of him..."

She missed a step on the stairs and barely caught herself. She sat like that, arm hooked over the banister, for how long she didn't know, gasping for breath and making claws in the air.

Her teachers _had_ used that Africa line. It had been like a double blow, or ironic or whatever, since Seymour was black.

And her things were still back at that guy's place. What had she been _thinking?_

She looked down at her feet and groaned. She had been in such a hurry to get away from him that she hadn't even put on boots. She hated being short in public. Nobody took short punk girls seriously.

Sometimes she felt like nobody took her seriously if she wasn't wearing those boots.

She hauled herself up to standing and continued downward, calmer now. She would walk it off. Then she would go back later tonight, take her things, and leave. She would leave town, in fact, hitchike to Orange County or San Francisco. There had been a kid at HIVE from San Francisco, and he'd been cute. No one would guess she was there. It would take a hell of a lot of hitchiking, not to mention beating off gross truck drivers, and worrying that somehow, in his strain of miracle-working, Kid Flash would figure out where she was going and suddenly show up...

But nobody had said it was going to be easy.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey. I was so afraid I was going to be stuck on this forever. I've been having such roadblocks. Anyway, I think this is going to end up being a _little_ bit longer than my intended six chapters. Maybe seven or eight. Oh well. I wanted this chapter to cover more ground, but I reached a good stopping point and I need to update. So, enjoy and review please!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

The day progressed. Kid Flash ate. He fought. And he thought.

* * *

So after a day of uselessly wandering around and looking and bus schedules, after weighing the pros and cons of living in one of the greatest hippie territories of the world, after wondering who else lived there, after realizing that Seymour had a bunch of friends there who could easily call him up and tell him where she was, after realizing that she really might have to stay at least one more night with Kid Flash, and after realizing that she detested the idea of going back to his clean-cut apartment, after all this had happened, Jinx decided there was only one thing left to do, and that was to go clubbing.

She had not been clubbing, such as it were, in a long time because there were no other girls to go clubbing with. She could never take the boys clubbing. They didn't dance, and they especially didn't dance like people usually danced at clubs. It was a comfort zone thing. The dances at HIVE had always been incredibly lame because nobody would just break the ice and _dance._ It sucked in indescribable ways.

Jinx was well aware that clubbing was not a particularly punk thing to do, but the problem was that she was _good_ at it. She _loved_ dancing. At HIVE, they had twisted it all around and forced her into ballet, gymnastics, and the classical, structured stuff that sucked the life out of you. Jinx didn't like the graceful part of dancing; she loved the wild side.

She slipped into the first club she found, and hastily stole one of the markers the bouncers used to mark those who had paid their entrance fee. She noticed two girls staring at her marking her hand, so she graciously held out the pen for their use, smiling conspiratorially. They took it, and Jinx slipped off into the middle of the crowd so she could lose track of everything.

It was about one in the morning when she got back to his place, sweating and freshly electrocuted from the buzz of physical contact. She slipped the doorman, took the stairs, and used one of Seymour's card maneuvers to trick the lock. Inside, the lights were on, as was the TV.

_He goes to bed at ten, does he?_

Kid Flash was not in obvious sight, and Jinx assumed that crime was happening somewhere. In other words, none of her business. She pulled off her sweater and threw it onto the couch.

Something groaned. She peeked over the couch, and saw Kid Flash rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"What was that earlier," She said brightly, "About going to bed around ten?"

"I was waiting for you," He said, handing her the sweater as he sat up. "I wanted to make sure you got back in all right."

"Because I'm so obviously incapable of walking through a door!"

"Don't yell. I was worried."

She rolled her eyes. "I'll bet. Go to bed."

"No. Tell me about your day."

"Don't you have an entire city to worry about?"

"Yes. And you're a part of it. Tell me about your day."

"I loitered at five different stores and resisted the urge to shoplift a new dildo so I could work off my stress. Subsequently I am still stressed and still pissed off. Go to bed."

He laughed half-heartedly. "Thanks for worrying about my health. But if you get to worry about me, then I get to worry about you."

"I am not worried about you!" She snapped. "I'm tired. I'm usually in bed by at least midnight."

"Midnight?" Kid Flash shook his head. "That's bad. You should be in bed by at least ten. I mean, how can you get seven hours of sleep walking through the door at one in the morning?"

"By sleeping in until noon. Duh." She cocked her head to the side. "Are you kicking me out?"

"No."

"Well, you're not being very hospitable if you won't even give up your couch."

"Jinx," And he grabbed her hand. The very act stunned her into submission, and that was the only reason he was able to guide her around the couch and push her into sitting next to him. "I'm worried about you."

"I'll bet," She glowered. "What are you trying to be, my mother?"

"I'm sorry that I sound like an over-protective parent," Kid Flash replied calmly. "I'm sorry I'm nosey, and I'm sorry I'm butting in where I'm not wanted. But the way things usually go around here, we're not going to be able to talk in the morning, so we might as well do it now."

"I'm tired---"

"And never hungry. Why?" Kid Flash watched her expectantly. "I just want to know." When Jinx continued to not respond, he added, "Not to sound creepy, but you look amazing. You'd look even better if you put on a couple pounds."

Jinx shook her head numbly. "It's just not what I do. Food is…look, a bunch of crap happens to food that you don't even know about."

"Like what?"

"Pesticides. "

He set his chin in his hands. "What else?"

Jinx blinked. "Don't you _know_ any of this?"

Kid Flash shook his head. "But you sound like you know a lot about it."

"Oh." Everyone at HIVE knew everything that was wrong with food. It was a fact of life. "Well, pesticides," Jinx repeated. "And diseases. I mean, you…you just don't know where it's been. People get sick all the time."

Kid Flash considered this. "You know, I eat twice as much as a normal person. More than that. I've never gotten sick."

Jinx rolled her eyes. "You're a super."

"Aren't you?"

"We can still get sick. I've _seen_ people get sick from food, okay? Really, really sick. I'm not just making stuff up."

"I don't think you're making stuff up. I just wish there was some way I could convince you to eat," Kid Flash ran his hands through his hair and eyed her carefully. "My pancakes are amazing, you know."

"They don't have cinnamon in them," Jinx replied automatically.

Kid Flash laughed. "That is so backwards."

"Look, I…it's not as if I never eat. I just eat at…certain places. With food by certain people."

"Food made by people you trust?" Jinx nodded, and Kid Flash practically clapped his hands. "Great! Let's go there now!"

"Um, hello, it's one in the morning! I thought you had your city to worry about," said Jinx.

"Well, it's more your city than mine. You've been living here longer," Kid Flash shrugged. "You swear you ate something today?"

"_Yes._"

He smiled. "Okay, then. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, Jinx. Have sweet dreams of the pancakes, _with cinnamon_, that you will eat with me in the morning."

Jinx rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure."

The smile grew. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"I didn't hear what you said."

"I said, "Yeah, sure." Whatever," She added.

"And you also said…?"

She scrunched up her face. "Um…go away?"

He laughed. "_Good night_, Jinx."

"Whatever," She mumbled again.

The next morning, he was not there.

Jinx rolled her eyes as she read his apologetic note, which promised that they would hang out later, but in the meantime please, _please_ eat the pancakes so she could tell him how wonderful they were later.

She could potentially run off right about now, to San Francisco. Even if Seymour knew people up there, San Francisco was big. Or there was Berkeley. Or Los Angeles. Well, not Los Angeles. Angelica had nothing but horrible things to say about it…

Angelica would probably understand about all this. Needing space, and girl time, and new foundations. That was what she was doing right now, wasn't it? Making a new place for herself?

Of course, if she was trying to do something for herself, she probably wouldn't want to be bothered by annoying little friends from _before_.

And besides, Jinx didn't have her communicator.

She lifted one of the pancakes from the stack and began tearing it into smaller, bite size pieces. Billy, or somebody anyway, had taught her that if you split food into three portions on a plate, it looked as if you had eaten much more than you actually had. No, it had been Bailey that had taught her that. Or Montego? Somebody older…

She sat down in front of the plate.

The problem with her plan, she decided, was that she just had no clue what to actually _do._ She was tired of trying not to think about things; _doing_ something would take her mind off them for good.

She decided to take a walk.

* * *

Kid Flash found Jinx pacing two streets away from the apartment. He sped up, and asked how she was doing.

"Fine."

Had she slept well?

"Decently."

Had she eaten?

"Sure. Whatever."

How were the pancakes?

"Fine."

She hadn't really eaten them, had she.

"No."

He steered her back in the direction of his apartment, and sat her down in front of her plate. She had played with her food, at least. Kid Flash wanted badly to think that she was at least trying.

He sat across from her and stared at her intently. She looked so…_boring_. He hated to even think it, but it was true. Where was the energy? Where was the vibe?

Where was the connection?

"It's probably cold now," He said. "Do you want me to heat them up?"

She shook her head.

"Jinx," He said exasperatedly. "I ate the exact same pancakes this morning. There's _nothing wrong with them_, I swear. You could at least _try_ to eat the pancakes I slaved to make for you." She was staring fixedly at the plate, and he ducked his chin a little to try to catch her eye. "Jinx?"

"It's fine," She said, picking up one of the torn pieces and placing it in her mouth. "You added cinnamon."

"I've never made them with cinnamon before," He admitted. "How is it?"

"Good." She ate another piece. "I like pancakes better cold, to be honest."

"Really? I always had a thing for piping hot, fresh off the griddle, like-mom-used-to-make kind of thing," Kid Flash grinned.

"Like mom used to make?" Jinx picked up the fork next to her plate and put it to employment. "Did she?"

"Well, no," He admitted. "My mom wasn't much of a cook. I had to learn to cook for myself, because I eat so much."

Jinx raised her eyebrows. "My mother was an amazing cook."

"Really? I'm jealous."

"Of what? As far as I could tell, that was all she was good at. Cooking. And looking pretty."

"Pretty?"

"Gorgeous. Unbelievably so."

"Do you have a picture?"

"No." Jinx stabbed at a stubborn pancake piece. "I ripped it up when I got to America."

"When you got to America?"

"I'm from India." She glanced up for a millisecond, as if daring him to ask a stupid question.

"Cool."

Her nostrils flared, as if she was repressing something. It was kind of cute, in a dangerous, dominatrix kind of way. And it showed energy. That was encouraging.

"So I take it you're not really in contact with them anymore," Kid Flash continued. "And that's why you're not going home?"

"I don't think they want me at home."

"Have you ever thought about going back to India in general?"

She paused, fork in midair. "No." She put the fork down. "No. I actually don't know anything about Indian culture anymore. I started attending western private schools when I was six. I barely even remember the language. I can speak Spanish or French better than…well," She snorted. "I don't even know _what_ language I used to speak."

"Spanish _and_ French? That's cool."

"They taught it at HIVE. It was key that we be fluent in at least five languages other than English, for networking purposes." It sounded as if she was quoting the fact verbatim from a lecture hall.

"So what other languages have you got?"

"I forgot the others. They were kind of arbitrary, not common at all." She made it sound as if everybody ought to have five or six languages they had learned and promptly forgotten.

"That's still cool, though," Kid Flash said, a little defensively. "I can barely manage conversational Spanish."

"I've always wondered; what sort of education do the Titans get?" She glared at him challengingly.

He thought for a moment. "A decent one. We have something like a homeschooling system. I…I used to go to school, but I've taken this up full time. I know Robin and some of the others worked through the high school requirements as fast as they could just to get it over with, and they study other things when they feel like it. That's what I'm doing right now."

"How much do you read?"

"When I can. Mostly classics. And science fiction."

She snickered at that. "Oh, god, if I see one more science fiction book in this lifetime I'll die. The boys always used to…" She pulled a face, and stood abruptly. "'Scuse me." She ran to the bathroom, and Kid Flash heard her retch. He sped over and found her kneeling over the toilet bowl, hair hanging in wild chunks around her face. Her reached over and gently pulled her hair back, and patted her back as she coughed up the rest of the contents of her stomach.

"Are you okay?"

She glared half-heartedly at him from the corners of her eyes, panting. "Sick. What did you put in the pancakes?"

He felt his face going hot. "I didn't put anything in them. What kind of guy do you think I am?"

"I don't know," She said.

They stayed like that for a little while until Kid Flash offered her something to drink. She nodded weakly, and he was back in less than half a second with a glass of water.

"Maybe I just ate too much," She said grudgingly as she took a sip. "But that's never happened before."

"Do you want to see a doctor?"

She shook her head. "There's about one and half doctors I trust, and I don't know where they are."

"You could trust me, and come to see my doctor."

She groaned. "Why do you always say---" She stopped, and pressed her hand to her mouth as if she might throw up again. After a few moments it seemed to pass, and she sighed. "Who's this doctor of yours?"


	5. Chapter 5

Hey everybody! My small hiatus is over, and I am now going about and updating everything I can in the shortest amount of time possible!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

He had offered to carry her, but she had cleverly argued that the acceleration would only make her sicker.

And so Kid Flash was forced to employ Jump City's wonderful public transportation system. It was a good thing he and Jinx were going together, because he had no idea how the darn thing _worked._ He thought it was bogus that he had to spend a dollar on a snail's pace wreck of the day, and Jinx had a good, cynical laugh over that.

"Doesn't the government give you some kind of monthly stipend? What are you whining for?"

"It's a waste," He grumbled cheerfully. "I don't like wasting things."

Jinx rolled her eyes. "That's what half of life is."

There were a million things he wanted to ask her, but she was not feeling well, so he gave her the courtesy of silence.

For about two minutes. Which for him was kind of a big deal.

"So, even thought my pancakes got tossed, they still tasted pretty good, right?"

She flicked a little glance his way. "Yeah, sure."

"Better going down than up?"

Her cheek twitched. Kid Flash hoped that, if anything, she was resisting a smile.

"So, did you--"

"Kid, if you ask me one more question I'm going to heave again."

"You'll have nothing to heave," He pointed out. "You haven't eaten anything since you heaved last time."

She pressed her forehead against the dirty glass and sighed. "Just stop. Okay? You don't have to force yourself to be interested in me. It's so obvious you're bored."

And then it slipped out before he could take it back, "Maybe I wouldn't be bored if you'd stop being so boring."

Her eyes snapped open, eyelashes brushing the glass. She didn't look at him, just stared out the window. Kid Flash wondered if she was counting to ten.

Then, she said, "You think I'm _boring_."

He took a deep breath. "Well, when I first met you, you were zapping me, chasing me all over town, kicking rubber butt. I was totally on edge the whole time. It was really cool. So, when I…when we met up again, I figured you'd be like that again, but, no offense, you're kind of a downer. I mean, I guess this is different, since you're sick and all, but this is such a low after all that. It's really depressing."

She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but after a moment changed her mind and chuckled softly. "Holy shit," She said, "If I didn't feel like I was going to puke up a lung, I'd round-house your ass into next week."

"Sorry." Then, shooting in the dark, he added, "Maybe we can try this again when you're feeling better."

She closed her eyes and nodded. "Maybe." Then, almost casually, she added, "It must suck being on a completely different train schedule then the rest of the world. Don't you ever get pissed off? Everybody is such a snail compared to you."

He thought about it for a moment. "It was really hard at first…I mean, I wasn't born with this, you know. It was a huge change, and…well, it was really hard not to get an ego about it, you know? But I mean, it's not like I mind dealing with people."

"Dealing with people? What are people, cards?" Jinx said scathingly. "I'm supposed to be the cold one here."

Kid Flash stared at her.

"And as for your ego, maybe you should try watching yourself on TV a little more often. You have ego up the wazoo. I don't know how you haven't noticed."

"I didn't say that I don't have an ego," Kid Flash said quietly. "Just that I try to control it."

"I shudder to think what your ego is like when you're not keeping tabs on it."

Kid Flash thought about this for a second. "Okay, then."

"You totally suck at this!" Jinx suddenly snapped, and Kid Flash nearly jumped out of his seat. "I am totally walking all over your honor and you're just letting me! We are in a _debate_ here, Kid! I picked a fight so I could _debate_ with you. That means you need to _retaliate_. Didn't they have a speech and debate club back in your home town or something, or did you think that was really boring too? Jesus!"

Kid Flash laughed nervously. "But you might have a point."

"I might have a point? Slade might have had a point! Brother Blood might have had a point! Anybody could have a point, are you just going to let them--"

"I'll let them speak their piece, sure," Kid Flash said. "It's their beliefs, I respect that. This is America, for crying out loud. But just because I'm not going to stomp them down immediately doesn't mean I'm not going to do something about it. There are better ways."

The fight seemed to leave her during his little speech. She slumped against the window again. "If I didn't feel like I was going to--"

"Puke up a lung, you'd roundhouse me into next week. And I probably deserve it." A thought occurred to Kid Flash, and he said, "I don't know everything about all the…stuff with Brother Blood. I only heard the rough sketch, but…do you think he had a point?"

Jinx shook her head. "I don't even know what he was trying to do."

The rest of the ride passed in silence.

The office in which Kid Flash's doctors operated was one of those tall, imperious buildings cleverly hiding with all the other tall, imperious buildings, so together they formed a mass of tall imperiousness, no matter what their true vocation.

"I actually have two doctors," Kid Flash explained as he led Jinx into the office. "Dr. Moon is really nice. The other guy is new, and he's…um…well, he's qualified, and professionally I can't say anything bad about--"

"He's a douchebag. No problem. I know how to handle doctors," Jinx assured him.

The smiling receptionist pointed to a door on the far left, and they went in there to wait. The room seemed as if it had been cut in half at one point; there was practically a line running through the center of it where calming blue wall paper was cut off by plain white walls. Kid Flash knew that the blue side of the room was Dr. Moon's territory. On the white side of the room, designated for the other doctor, was a small sign: the word "whining" with a big 'x' cutting through it.

Jinx frowned at the sign. "Talk about déjà vu," She muttered, and Kid Flash was tempted to ask, but then the receptionist came in to tell them that Dr. Moon was not available, and that Dr. Anderson would be in with them shortly.

Jinx nearly jumped out of her seat. "_Anderson_?" She demanded.

"Yeah. Anthony Anderson. Do you…know him?"

Before Jinx could answer, the door slammed open, revealing a young man with curling hair and cold eyes. Kid Flash swallowed and tried to repress all personal opinions of the doctor.

This was not quite the route that Jinx chose. She pointed an accusing finger at Dr. Anderson and intoned, "You _slut_."

Dr. Anderson blinked. "Oh, it's you. Still alive, are we, Ms. Sandavas? How nice for you."

"You little _bitch_," She hissed. "You're sleeping with both sides."

"I am not," said Dr. Anderson. "I am sleeping with only one side at a time. Hello, Mr. West," He added to Kid Flash. "I would appreciate it if this conversation were kept discrete."

"I'm sure you would," Kid Flash agreed, crossing his arms. "What are you two talking about?"

"Well," Dr. Anderson drew himself up and smirked. "The truth of the matter is that I am Ms. Sandavas' school psychiatrist--"

"In his sick dreams," Jinx cut in. "We fucking put you out of work! What are you doing in practice?"

Dr. Anderson put a hand across his heart as if she had hurt him. "You see how she rejects my advances? It's purely sadistic, Jaya."

Kid Flash practically felt his ears twitch. _Jaya_?

"So," Dr. Anderson continued with glee. "Have you discovered the meaning of life yet? I'll have you know, out of all the sessions I sat through at HIVE Academy, your series on the meaning of life was by far the most entertaining. A full hour of Chekhov quotations!" He exclaimed to Kid Flash. "It was quite impressive, for a little thing her age."

"A little thing my age?" Jinx snapped.

"You were a bit younger when I was at your school…" Dr. Anderson looked her up and down critically. "Well, this won't do. You've hardly grown at all. How do you expect to keep him interested," And here he jerked a thumb in Kid Flash's direction, "If you don't give him anything fun to grab?"

Jinx's jaw literally dropped. It was Kid Flash who had to explain that, no, they weren't in that kind of relationship. He endured Dr. Anderson's stony look of disbelief, followed by his trademark, "If that's how you want to do things…"

"I just brought her here for a physical," Kid Flash continued. "She's been sick."

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and prescribe aspirin," Dr. Anderson said drily. "Or an abortion."

"It's more than that. She threw up this morning--"

"She had something in her stomach to throw up?" Dr. Anderson whistled and glanced at Jinx, who refused to look at either of them. "I see we're making progress from your skinny days."

"Not really. She _hasn't_ been eating, and she's been really tired."

"That's called staying out late. Or drugs. Started shooting up anything interesting, Jaya?" Dr. Anderson called to Jinx. "I know your friends were all on something, it was only a matter of time before you hopped the bandwagon."

She shook her head numbly, still glaring at the floor.

"Huh," said Dr. Anderson. He turned back to Kid Flash. "Well, there's not much I can do when she gets in this kind of mood. So let's chat. How long have you two been together?"

"We're not together," Kid Flash said clearly. "She is just staying over for a while."

"Yeah. Right. Okay, mum's the word, I understand. Keep your secrets. Is she pregnant?"

Kid Flash blushed. "I don't think…I mean, how would I know?" He remembered suddenly about the friend she had been staying with, and tried not to suspect anything. "It's not any of my business to ask her. I respect her privacy." He raised his voice a little bit as he said this, hoping Jinx would chime in with some kind of input.

"Yeah. Right. Okay, do you suspect she's faking it? She's a wonder for faking illnesses. That pale skin of hers really--"

Something soft hit Kid Flash in the head. He reached up and pulled it off his head, and realized that it was Jinx's t-shirt.

"Mr. West," Jinx said icily, and Kid Flash got a good look at her half-nude body before turning away, "This is a physical. And I can fucking talk for myself. I know how much nudity _bothers _you, so maybe you should leave the room. Anderson, for the love of god, if you try to touch _anything_ I will scream blue murder."

As Kid Flash left them alone, he couldn't help but think that Jinx throwing her shirt at him had been a little more in the realm of exciting that he had been hoping for this whole time.

* * *

Dr. Anderson was a doctor, and therefore not prone to flinch at the sight of anything. He merely glared at her waist-line and said, "Reminds me of my internship in Africa."

"Did they send you there to eat the starving babies?" Jinx hissed.

"Jaya, surely we can put aside our differences--"

"No, I don't think we can. Just tell me what kind of sick I am so I can get out of here and get on with life." She caught his eye. "You've got to understand, I've been expecting this for a while. I've spent my whole life having people tell me that there's something wrong with me, and now there really is. Self-fulfilling prophecy."

He blinked. "That's bullshit. That's not scientific at all."

"No, it isn't scientific. It's just how it works."

Dr. Anderson rolled his eyes. "Look, you don't need to undress anymore for me to tell you what's wrong. You're starving yourself to death. Your stomach doesn't remember what food is, and so it's rejecting it. 

You're tired because you're not consuming any form of energy. This is as basic and scientific as it gets, little girl. People need to eat to live."

"I am not a people," Jinx pronounced grandly.

"Well, you certainly don't weigh as much as a person. I prescribe a healthy diet of the food triangle, with aspirin on the side if you ever get sore, and I predict a full recovery. All you have to do now is pull yourself from the pit of self-pitying teenage angst, and you'll be set for your boring, American life…such as you can live it," He added snidely with a nod to her hair and eyes. "If cosmetic surgery was within my scope of knowledge I might offer assistance with those other assets."

"You're a bitch."

"I'm a doctor. Have you ever considered the profession? I mean, what do you intend to do with yourself now?"

Jinx wilted a little. "I don't know."

"You were trained in a multitude of useless things at that school," said Dr. Anderson. "All that pointless education can probably be focused in on some subject or other." She didn't respond, and he sighed. "Of course, I'm sure you were hoping to live a life in wealthy obscurity, never working a single day--"

"No!" She snapped. "I want to work, okay? I'm going crazy because I have nothing to do!" She slumped back in her chair. "If my skin wasn't so freakish, I could be, like, a dancer or something. But that would take a bunch of cosmetics, and I don't want to bother with that. It'd be lying."

"And you have a problem with that?" Dr. Anderson asked drily.

"Lies on the side are fine," said Jinx. "I won't make my whole life a lie."

"How terribly noble."

"Shut you face."

He chuckled. "You've lost a little of your bite. You used to snap at me so much more effectively."

"You knew."

"Knew what?"

She glared at him half-heartedly. "What Brother Blood was doing."

He froze for a few seconds. Then he nodded. "I didn't understand the full scope of it at the time."

She shook her head, disgusted.

"He wanted me to give him insight on his student body's personal thoughts and aspirations," He continued slowly. "I wasn't much interested in that. I was only there for money in the first place. I just 

made up some random junk about feelings and insecurities and shit. It's not as if you or your little friends were giving me much to work with anyway," He added accusingly. "The stories you kids made up."

"And the Titans are letting you work in this little hole-in-the-wall, knowing all that?"

"I've come quite clean about the whole thing. It's not as if there was much to tell, I was barely involved in the first place. I hardly spent an hour in jail."

"It must be nice, being able to sell yourself out to the highest bidder."

Dr. Anderson studied her for a moment, and then shrugged. "I am a doctor, not a judge."

"Well, lucky you."

He glanced down at his clipboard. "I think we're done here. Get dressed. Do you want the details, or should I hand them over to your little caretaker outside?"

"I don't need your fucking details, Anthony," Jinx said tightly. "Just get the fuck out of my sight."

Dr. Anderson barely hesitated for a moment before escaping out the door, and, as much as Jinx hated him, she couldn't blame him at all.

Her ears were ringing.


	6. Chapter 6

Long period of not-updating, and finally, here's the update. Thanks to everyone for your acceptance of the OC, I really appreciate it. I'm slating this, theoretically (_very_ theoretically) to go for about another four chapters, making this thing ten chapters long.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Dr. Anderson tapped Kid Flash on the shoulder and said, "Your girlfriend remains the same basket-case I remember dealing with at HIVE."

Kid Flash stopped himself just in time from snapping the doctor's finger off his hand. "Which means what?"

"She's a wreck. And unless I'm reading too deep, she's lost her virginity. Always thought she'd lose it soon. There weren't many girls at that school."

Kid Flash frowned. "I didn't need to know that."

Dr. Anderson shrugged. "Just wanted you to know what you are dealing with." He consulted his clipboard, and Kid Flash couldn't help but notice that not a single thing had been written upon it. "Anyway, she's anorexic, which I already knew, and messed up psychologically, which I also already knew. I'm not sure exactly why you brought her here."

"She's not sick in any other way?" Kid Flash asked pointedly.

"No. Well, that's a lie. I learned something else; she's a hypochondriac," Dr. Anderson sniffed. "It's not very developed, and she's not very good at expressing it--"

"Hypo-_what?"_

Dr. Anderson gave him a pitying glance. "She is convinced that she is sick. She wanted me to tell her what condition she has, and when I couldn't come up with anything, she became angry with me."

"I'm sure you did something else to provoke that," said Kid Flash.

"Possibly. Anyway, she's depressed and possibly suicidal, and she's having a mid-adolescent crisis because she doesn't know what to do with herself. And she's on the brink of having a melt-down in there, so I'd give her a minute before going in there. And when I say a minute, I do mean a minute in _normal_ time, not _your_ time," Dr. Anderson winked at him. "Just hold your horses, lover-boy. She'll come to you when she's ready."

"What can I do for her in the meantime?" Kid Flash gritted through his teeth.

Dr. Anderson snorted. "Hell if I know. Get her to eat if you can. Best case for everybody would be if you just let her crawl back to the gutter, but I'm sure you have other ideas. Just don't bring her back unless you absolutely have to." He caught Kid Flash's angry look and said quietly, "I mean it. I value my physical health, and that of the people in this building. One more visit like that and this whole place could go 

toppling to the ground. She has no control." He tugged at his white lab coat. "Not to mention they'd take the damages out of my pay."

"Because that's what it's all about, isn't it?" Kid Flash said bitterly.

"Isn't it? Don't play hero with me, kid. You're out for a reward same as me. Doctors, kids in suits, we're all the same here. We can play saint all day, but I still get my thirty grand at the end of the week, and you still get your face plastered in every magazine." Dr. Anderson shook his head. "There are no heroes in this business anymore. We're all in it for the money."

"Speak for yourself," Kid Flash snapped, brushing past the doctor so he could get back into the office.

* * *

As losing control went, it hadn't gone so badly. There was a significant dent in the wall of Dr. Anderson's portion of the office, but Jinx couldn't honestly say she felt badly about it. In fact, she generally felt better, especially when she realized it had been quite a few days since she had done anything meta-human.

Kid Flash had greeted her with a worried smile. When they were out of the office, he asked, "Was he a complete and total ass?"

"Oh, you don't like him?" Jinx laughed. "You're a protector of the peace. You're supposed to like everybody."

"I'm supposed to _protect_ everybody," Kid Flash corrected her. "Personal preference is unprofessional."

Jinx rolled her eyes. "Heard that one before."

"Other heroes?"

"One of the teachers at HIVE. Something about sentimentality being the death of you."

Kid Flash frowned. "That's not quite how I meant it."

Jinx shrugged. "It's the same difference, isn't it? No souls allowed in the professional world." She sighed. "So, what did Tony say?"

"You call him Tony?"

"What did he say?"

Kid Flash shrugged. "That you have an eating disorder, and need to work on it."

"Kid Flash, I can't look at a full plate of food without thinking that I'm going to throw up. That's just how I am."

"Well, who said anything about full plates?" said Kid Flash. "We'll try smaller portions. A snack every two hours. As long as you get the calories at some point, it's the same difference."

She eyed him. "We?"

"Sure. You're welcome to stay with me as long as you like." He turned and saw his offer had not pleased her at all. "What?"

"What is this to you, anyway?" She asked him. "A charity case? I'm not interested in being your little project."

Kid Flash sighed. "Is this going to be another one of those things where you pick a fight with me, I don't rise to the occasion, and you snap? I'm not interested, Jinx. Can't we just get along?"

"Can't you grow a spine?"

"Why do I need a spine to talk to you?"

"How can you live without a spine?"

"I don't need a spine to live!"

"Well, then, you must be very miserable!" Jinx snapped.

"You're the one who's miserable!" Kid Flash cried. "Why do you think you're sick?"

"Because I am!"

"No, you're not! You're just making yourself sick! Would you…" He trailed off hopelessly, and muttered, "Could we not argue about this in the street?"

Jinx looked around her. About two families and five couples were staring at them. She heard one girl lean into her boy and say, "Remember when we used to fight like that?" Jinx sent a withering glance in their direction, and they scurried away, laughing. The other people saw this and dispersed.

"I need to get something to eat," Kid Flash announced. "I'm sorry, but I just lose it when I'm this hungry."

"Emotional eater?" Jinx mumbled.

"Come with me," said Kid Flash. "So we can talk about this calmly. I really want to help you. I don't know how many more times I can say it."

Jinx looked him squarely in the eye. "Don't you think you might help me just by leaving me alone?"

"No, I don't. I think if I left you alone, you'd just sulk and let yourself get worse, and you wouldn't get anything resolved."

"Who says I can't resolve anything by myself?" Jinx demanded. "Maybe what I need is space so I can clear my head. You just confuse me."

"You don't seem very confused to me," said Kid Flash. "Just mad. And sad too." He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Look, it may seem really corny, but I always feel better after I talk about something that's bothering me."

Jinx shook her head. "There's nothing in particular that's bothering me except for you."

"Look, there's a La Bou across the street, and I'm _starving_. Let me get something, for _both_ of us, so we can just sit for a minute. I haven't had a real conversation with you since the other day. I wanted to go for something like that again. You know, sitting? And talking? All we do lately is argue."

She tilted her chin and said coolly, "But if we weren't arguing, then it would be _boring_ for you, wouldn't it?"

There was a reaction in there, however small. Jinx saw it in the way his cheek twitched. "No, it wouldn't. I'm _interested_ in you."

"I'm flattered," She said icily.

Kid Flash rubbed his eyes. "I don't know what else to tell you! This doesn't happen to me!"

"What, you're not typically interested in anybody besides yourself?"

He winced. "I wouldn't put it like that, but…yeah."

She gaped at him. He held up his hands pleadingly. "Not in the street. Just in La Bou. Give me a minute to get things together, and then we can talk?"

* * *

'Getting things together' involved ordering five sandwiches, a large drink, and three bags of chips and arranging them artistically around her and himself in the furthest table in the furthest corner of the La Bou.

She glared at his spread. "If I had anything in my stomach to throw up, I would."

Kid Flash grinned at her. "Help yourself to whatever you like."

She set her chin in her hands. "I thought we were going to talk about _me?"_

He nodded, and picked out the first sandwich. "Sure. Go for it."

"No, _you_ were going to talk about me. And about how you're a selfish ass who doesn't think about anybody besides himself."

He knew better, by then, than to rise to the insult. "It's not so much that I don't think about anybody else. I do. I don't answer the calls and save people just because I want to make their problems all about me." She snorted, but the calories were warming his feelings towards her. "I answer them because I want to help, and I can."

"With great power comes great responsibility," Jinx said in a deep, mocking monotone.

"Exactly." He started on the second sandwich. "And I like people. But…people are very slow compared to me."

"The average person isn't good enough," Jinx nodded. "I agree."

He frowned. "I'll admit it, I've got something really…look, you have no idea what going at super-speed is like! I mean, can I even tell you the rate of endorphins I get compared to everybody else? It's like an acid trip, only healthier, and I'm the only one. Other people just can't keep up, and it's not like I've got anything against them for it, but it's so tempting just to--"

"Turn around and bitch-smack them right through their dreariness?" Jinx said hopefully.

He gulped. "It's tempting just to keep speeding always and never slow down for them at all."

She was studying him carefully, and he decided to just say it. "But it's not like that when I talk to you. You _fascinate_ me. I could sit here all day and just stare at you, trying to guess what you're thinking."

Jinx pursed her lips. "So you're hot for me?"

"I never said that," Kid Flash munched on his fourth sandwich, the third having been consumed sometime ago.

"But I _fascinate_ you."

"Doesn't mean I have wild sexual fantasies about you."

She snorted. "Mr. West, you are _gay_."

"Ms. Sandavas, you're avoiding the subject. I think you're really cool, and I want to help you."

"Because it is in your personal interest to keep me around because I _fascinate_ you."

"Hey, look," He said, ripping open the first bag of chips. "You keep asking why I'm so interested in you. And I just answered you. Really, it's what I've been saying about you this whole time. There's something about you that's…different."

"Yeah, gray skin and pink hair. Not to mention the hexes and amazing wit," She tugged on a strand of her fly-away hair and gazed at him. "You're kind of a shallow jerk at heart."

"Maybe. But I am an _honest_ shallow jerk."

She puffed out her cheeks like a chipmunk and squinted at him. "So, you're public image is kind of a lie."

"No, it's not," He said defensively. "I'm there to help. I'm interested in helping. Nothing in my ad campaign says I'm interested in the people _personally_. And it would probably only creep them out anyway." He saw her skeptical look and added, "But I do genuinely like helping people."

"Because it gives you an ego trip or whatever. Great." He was probably wrong, but now she looked genuinely disappointed in him. "If you're what the kids have to look up to, what does that say about the villains?"

He shrugged. "At least people are getting helped. What else can I do?"

She stared back at him across the table. "So you're just doing time."

He laughed. "You make it sound like I'm sitting in jail."

"It sounds like jail."

"It's a living either way." He held out his bag of chips. "Want any?"

She wrinkled her nose. "What do you think?"

"I think you do."

"I don't do pre-packaged, processed food."

"Okay." He looked back across the facility and noticed the selection of fruit on a shelf. He went to it and back at a relatively normal pace, and held out an apple to her.

She recoiled as if it were a bomb. "Are you crazy? People put razor blades in those things!"

Kid Flash laughed. "Jinx, that's just something they tell kids on Halloween."

"It happens."

He turned the apple over in his hands. "Looks okay to me. I'll take the first bite if you want." He tore a sizeable chunk out with his teeth, and held it out to her. "Go on. I'm not sick."

Casting him her withering look, Jinx took the apple and nibbled on the corner of his bite mark. She scowled at him, and he smiled encouragingly, gesturing for her to eat more.

She put the apple down carefully on the table. "I don't feel like throwing up again right now."

"Dr. Anderson was saying that's just because you haven't eaten much in so long. If you just took it in smaller portions, like I was saying earlier, it would be the same as eating three meals a day. It's just that your body isn't used to being full of food." She was losing interest rapidly, and he added quickly, "It's a dieting trick that regular people use, so they burn off the calories more easily. You wouldn't get fat or anything, if that's what you're worried about."

She rolled her eyes. "Like I care so much about looks. Not everyone in the world is as shallow as you."

He shrugged. "It'd be healthier, and it would make me--"

"Make you leave me alone?" Jinx said hopefully.

"Make me bother you less," Kid Flash amended.

"Or I could just leave so you wouldn't bother me at all," She said triumphantly.

"Or I could follow you to the ends of the earth until you listen to me," He said.

"Or I could kill you and solve everybody's problems."

"Or you could save me a lot of trouble and just try eating something. Look, I'll make you a deal," He said, leaning across the table. "You try things my way for a week. Eating, going to bed earlier, getting up earlier. If you still hate it after that, you can go off to whatever and I won't bother you anymore." She chewed her lip and he twisted the screw. "And I'll tell everybody that you told me off good, and that anybody would be an idiot to try to argue with you. I'll never, ever bother you again."

Jinx stuck her face in his and said, "I want that in writing."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

They did indeed put it in writing when they got back to Kid Flash's place. A two page contract concisely illustrating about fifty-three things Kid Flash would _not_ do, and six and a half more things that he would do. He signed it on several dotted lines, even though he barely understood what Jinx had dictated to him to write.

"Where did you learn all these legal terms, anyway?" He asked weakly as he massaged his hand.

"School," Jinx replied, as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. The again, maybe it was.

"So, begin," said Jinx when the last dotted line had been filled.

"Wait a second," said Kid Flash. "I'm not the only one on contract here. You need to sign something saying you're actually going to do what I tell you."

They wrote up another contract, barely half a page long, as Kid Flash dictated to Jinx:

"I, (insert name), will at least attempt everything Wally tells me to do, within reason."

"And you sign here," Kid Flash smiled apologetically when Jinx sent him a withering glance. "Never went to law school. Sorry."

She signed, and said, "So, begin."

He plucked a variety of fruits from his refrigerator and laid them out on the table. "Have you ever tried any of these?"

She glared at the variety of fruits. "Are you asking if I've ever eaten in my life? You can ask if I've ever eaten in my life. I wouldn't take offense. Because, you know, I _have_ eaten in my life."

"Okay, so which of these have you eaten?"

"Yes to all. But I've gotten pickier since then."

"Okay, so which ones are you willing to eat?"

She sighed and speculated. She pushed the apple away from the group, as well as the pear and the peach and the melon and the orange and the pineapple. All that was left was a little box of blueberries.

Kid Flash sighed. "We need to widen your horizons a little. How are you with vegetables?"

She chewed her lips a little. "Hate carrots, they look phallic. Hate broccoli, phallic. Hate celery, phallic. Hate--"

"Okay, I get it. How about tomatoes?"

Her nose wrinkled a little. "Tomatoes are a _fruit, _genius."

"Okay, why don't you just tell me what you like to eat."

Jinx thought it over for a moment. "Italian food has always gone well with me."

Kid Flash laughed. "Well, was that so hard? How did you pick Italian food?"

She shrugged. "Everybody I know that can cook cooks Italian food."

"Or pancakes."

"Whatever."

"Well, there's a restaurant near here that does Italian. You want to try it? Will you eat something there?"

Jinx stood and brushed off her skirt. "Just let me change."

"Change?"

She whirled on him, looking the most skeptical she had all day. "We're going to a _restaurant_, dumbass. I'm not going to a restaurant dressed like this. And you're not going dressed like _that_. Change."

She began taking off her shirt, and even speedster Wally was hard pressed to turn away in time. "Wait, is this like a date?"

"In the sense that we're going as two people to a restaurant in which we will be sharing a table and a bill, yes. This is a date, Mr. West. It was your own suggestion."

He swung round to straddle his chair, still facing away from her. "So what should I wear? What are you wearing?"

"Turn around and look."

"Are you fully dressed?"

"You are such a _wimp_."

"Excuse me for not being interested in seeing you naked!"

"You're excused, sure. I don't mind you being gay. I have lots of gay friends."

"Okay, let's get this straight. I am _not_ gay."

"Well, you don't have to get so defensive. It's not helping your case."

"I'm getting defensive, I just want you to know the real story. I'm not gay."

"If you say so."

"Yes, I do."

"I'm dressed, so you can stop being an idiot."

Kid Flash turned to un-straddle his chair, and took a good look at Jinx. She was wearing a pair of high-rise black suede boots and a pink and black striped sweater over nice, dark jeans. She was in the process of wiping off her old make up and pulling out a new stick of eyeliner. Kid Flash was relieved to see the jeans. If she had pulled out a dress, he would not have had slacks to match her. He had left all his fancy gear in Keystone, assuming Jump City would be all work and no play.

She raised her eyebrows at her hand mirror and said, "Hurry up and go get dressed. It's the girls who are supposed to take forever."

He nodded dumbly and sped off to his room to see if he had a pair of nice, dark jeans.

* * *

The place was generally one where you made reservations and things about two weeks before, but Kid Flash merely had to whisper something in the host's ear, and a table for two was magically produced.

Jinx rolled her eyes when Kid Flash grinned at her. "Show off."

"All for you." He sipped at his ice water. "What do you want?"

"No idea," said Jinx, plucking an ice cube from her glass and crunching down on it. "They haven't given us menus. Slow down." She glanced around. "I feel like I've been here before."

"Have you?"

"No idea."

"Good ambience, then," Kid Flash shrugged, and spotted their waiter. "Ah, here we go."

"Welcome, heard we got you short notice. Glad you could join us," Their waiter, a slight, appropriately ethnic looking boy sidled up to their table and handed them menus. "My name is Anton and I'll be your waiter this evening--hey!"

Jinx look up guiltily. "I didn't do it."

Anton laughed. "Don't you remember me? I'm a friend of--"

"Ohmigod, hi!" Jinx shot up out of her seat to cut him off before he said "Seymour". "Of course I remember you, Anton!"

"Wow, I haven't seen you in ages, girl!" Anton hugged her warmly, and a few of the other patrons, including Kid Flash, stared. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm okay."

"No homeless? Where are--"

"Elsewhere," she said quickly. "I'm kind of here on other business."

"Oh? _Oh_," Anton glanced at Kid Flash and grinned. "Gotcha. I'll stay out of your way. No problem. You'll want the angel hair pasta, then? You liked that last time. I highly recommend it," He added to Kid Flash, whose stare was becoming less and less friendly by the second. "We only serve the best."

"I know," said Kid Flash. "I've been here before."

Anton smile shrank into a smirk. "Two of those, then?"

"I can't believe you're still working here," said Jinx, oblivious to the situation at hand. "Isn't it a school night?"

"Hey, a starving college student has to eat," said Anton, guiding her back into her chair. "Order coming right up. Drinks?"

"Coff--"

"Just water is fine," Kid Flash cut her off neatly. "Thanks."

Anton sauntered off, leaving Jinx smiling pleasantly. "Fancy seeing him here."

"So you have been here before," Kid Flash said pointedly, trying to match her mood.

"I guess so!" Jinx set her chin in her hand. "I'd completely forgotten about this place. I think I might have had to skip the bill last time."

"No money?"

"Force of habit. It's like a mark of respect. And if Anton was here anyway, then he could have covered it."

"Hmph," said Kid Flash. "Is this angel hair pasta as good as all that?"

"As far as I remember."

"Order up! Two angel hair pastas, and just water," Anton set their plates in front of them with an air that could only be described as smug.

"That was fast," Kid Flash said grudgingly.

"Our specialty," said Anton, flashing him a toothy smile. "Speaking of angels, Jaya sweety, have you heard from Angelica since she left?"

Jinx's face fell a little. "No. I don't think we will."

Anton's face fell as well. "She doesn't write or call or anything?"

"She's in LA," said Jinx, as if that explained everything.

Anton frowned. "Well, I haven't seen her in anything yet. I'd bet she'd sing, though. Maybe an album?"

"I really have no idea," said Jinx. "I'm sorry."

"Well, let me know. I'll leave you two alone," Anton added with a laugh. "Talk about bad date etiquette. I'm sorry."

Jinx and Kid Flash began to protest at the same time that they were _not_ on a date, they simply happened to be two people sharing a table and a bill.

Anton laughed again. "Of _course_. Whatever you say."

Kid Flash stared after him glumly as Jinx began to dig into her angel hair pasta. He was almost too put out to relish the fact that she was eating, and seemed to be enjoying it. Finally he said:

"Who is Angelica?"

Jinx started guiltily and turned her attention away from her food. "Um. HIVE student."

"Super model? Actress?"

"She could be. She _should_ be. She is absolutely the most beautiful person in the world."

Kid Flash frowned. He didn't really want to hear about the most beautiful person in the world.

"She was like my mother."

He looked up. Jinx was staring rather sadly at her food. He shifted guiltily in his chair and said contritely, "Well, tell me about her. If it doesn't bother you. Don't stop eating."

Jinx stabbed at her pasta. "Well, she's absolutely stunningly beautiful. And she was the oldest one among us, so she was in charge. She just sort of…floated everywhere. She barely had to work at anything. She was perfect."

"Nobody's perfect," He mumbled.

She frowned at him. "Well, she was. Really thin and platinum blonde hair and lips and all. And _perfect_ boobs. I mean, really though."

He didn't like the envy he heard in her voice. "Well, I don't see what's so great about those things. I mean, I do, but I don't. You know?"

Jinx raised an eyebrow. "No, I don't."

"Well, it's like assembly-line beauty. All conventional. I don't think there's such a thing as conventional beauty," said Kid Flash, blushing a little. "Sorry. I don't mean to insult her."

Jinx glanced shiftily from him to her food to around the room. "S'okay."

"And I'm not saying that to impress you," He continued desperately. "I'm not trying to be all self-righteous or unique or something. I'm not…I'm not making this any better, am I?"

She shook her head, smiling a little. "I kind of get what you mean."She glanced at his plate and laughed. "And I'm supposed to be sick or something. Eat! It's really good."

Kid Flash laughed weakly. "The tables turn. Guess I had that coming." He began picking at his food. "How is it that you'll eat the food here, but La Bou isn't good enough for you?"

She thought about it for a moment. "I don't know anybody there. And La Bou is very assembly line."

"So it's not about weight."

"It's never been about weight. Not really. I just don't trust people."

"The weight aspect holds no interest for you?"

"No…well, that's a lie," Jinx spun her fork around in her noodles. "At HIVE, they really wanted us to have as little body fat as possible. The less we ate, the less fat we had to burn. And eating took up studying time."

"Studying time?"

"Results were more important than health." She looked up from her food and saw his face. "Sorry. I'm being a bummer."

"No, don't worry about it," Kid Flash said faintly.

They ate in relative silence, making the odd comment every so often and following it up with vague little "mm"s and "ah"s. Eventually Anton passed by their table to say goodbye, and Kid Flash tried not to be bothered when Jinx got up to chase after him for a private word.

Kid Flash was also trying not to think about when and why he had gotten so possessive of his unwilling house guest. Or if he had always been this possessive, and just hadn't noticed.

* * *

"Just don't tell him you saw me, okay?" Jinx demanded.

She had chased after Anton with every intention of having a friendly goodbye. She had not intended to end up holding him at hex-point against a brick wall.

Anton laughed weakly. "What is the big deal if Seymour knows I saw you?"

"Because then he'll have a lead, and that's not what I want to give him!" Jinx cried. "Could you just keep your mouth shut?"

"Okay, I won't tell him. Can I tell Elliot?"

"No, you can't tell anybody!"

"Okay, already. Jeez," Anton rolled his eyes. "_What_ is the big deal? Are you guys fighting?"

"No, I just want space. Can't I get space?"

"Okay, you've got space. Can I tell Tyler I saw you?"

"As long as he doesn't gossip to Kitten, okay. Tell him I said hi."

"Okay," Anton pulled her in for another hug. "Love you, hun. Be seeing you?"

"For a little while, anyway. I better get back in there," said Jinx, laughing a little. "I think he was getting jealous."

Antont pouted. "_I'm_ the one who's jealous. Where did you pick up such hot _buns_?"

Jinx laughed and slapped his arm. "What are you trying to say? I'm not dating him!"

"Just keep an eye on those, that's all I'm saying. Gotta go. Love ya!"

* * *

It was on the walk back from the restaurant that Kid Flash finally worked up the courage to ask, "So, who exactly is Anton a friend of?"

"Another friend," Jinx said blithely. "Don't worry about it."

"What kind of friend?"

"What's it to you?" Jinx looked back at him and laughed. "Let's go clubbing!"

"What?"

"We're dressed right, aren't we?"

"Uh-uh," Kid Flash shook his head. "According to contract, we're doing what I say, right?"

Jinx pouted good-naturedly. "Right."

"And I say that late nights are unhealthy. We're going to bed."

Jinx stopped walking. "It's only ten!"

"That's late."

She put her hands on her hips. "I can't go to sleep at ten."

"You can try," Kid Flash brushed past her into the building. "Seventy percent of resting is just lying there. You don't actually have to sleep."

Jinx sniffed. "First I've heard."

"Well, whatever," Kid Flash shrugged, holding the elevator for her. "You can always watch TV or something."

Jinx stood against the far end of the elevator and said, "Is something up?"

"Like what?"

Jinx sighed. "I don't even know why I'm bothering to tell you this, but Anton's gay."

Kid Flash's gaze snapped up to her's. "What?"

"It's true. He's dating the physical trainer of this friend of mine."

"So that's the friend he was talking about?"

Jinx decided one little lie wouldn't kill him, or her. It wasn't even a lie, really. Seymour and Kitten were both her friends. Or _had_ been her friends. "Sure."

Kid Flash sighed. "Okay, then."

"Is that what's been bothering you this whole time?"

"I haven't been bothered."

"Liar."

"Whatever you say," said Kid Flash, spirits lifting by the second.

"Watch some TV with me?" said Jinx. "I'm not going to be able to sleep. I still say we should go clubbing."

"Sure, I'll watch some TV with you," Kid Flash said lightly.

"You know, this whole week-long thing might work out," Jinx said companionably. "Unless, of course, you're going to get jealous over every gay friend I talk to. I have a lot. But if you're looking for a boyfriend, I can probably hook you up. Anton's taken, though, like I said."

"Sure," said Kid Flash, laughing more out of relief than anything else, "Whatever you say." After a few more moments, he said, "Sorry. I was being presumptuous."

"I'm flattered."

"Ha ha. Hey. Question."

"Go ahead."

"Can I call you Jaya?"

She raised her eyebrows, surprised.

"And you can call me Wally. That's my name. Wallace. Wally. I don't like it when you call me Mr. West. It makes me feel like some kind of mafia leader." He frowned, concerned. "It _is_ Jaya, isn't it? That's what he…Anton called you."

"Yeah," She said. "Jaya."

He smiled, "Wally." Wally held out his hand for her to shake.

Jaya took it.


	8. Chapter 8

A rather short chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

They were watching TV--cartoons, in fact, to Wally's profound delight--when his communicator buzzed in alarm. He sighed.

"I'm sorry. I have to go."

Jinx cocked her head to the side. "Couldn't you potentially ignore it? It's not anything dangerous."

"How do you know that?"

"I don't know any criminals that would bother doing something on a Wednesday night. Wednesdays tend to be doomed. It's probably just a normal thug gig, and that's hardly worth your powers."

He frowned at her. "I have a responsibility to the people of this city."

"Well, people need to learn how to take care of themselves for once," Jaya replied lightly. "Sit down. The commercial break is almost over."

"I'll be back in just a few minutes. I'm sorry, okay?"

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to yourself for wasting your time on something that probably isn't even that big of a deal."

He could have been there and back by then, but he didn't care. "Are you saying this because you don't want me to leave, or because you really believe that helping people is a waste of time?"

She thought about it for a second, and Wally tried to be grateful that she even thought about it. "The way I see it, there are lots of things the police don't catch. So your little alarm clock is only tipping you off to maybe forty percent of the real crime out there. Which means you're making less than half the difference. So, yes. Helping people is a waste of time, because you're not getting to the majority."

There were people waiting, and he couldn't _deal_ with this right now. "At least people are being helped," He snapped, and sped off.

Jinx sat on her annoying benefactor's couch and pretended their argument had been very stupid.

"Less than forty percent of crimes are actually dealt with by authority," was a HIVE Truth, and she had never had to defend it before. That was one of the first statistics they learned at HIVE, for the love. That was what they had consoled themselves with on plains-clothes, small-time stuff they had done just to get by. Ripping off chains and mega-stores back in the day when any of them had eaten, breaking into warehouses to hide out when they were ditching school. No worries; sixty percent of illegal activity is ignored anyway, we can relax.

Jinx tried not to think about what would happen if tonight was one of those nights when Johnny and Billy went out to Crash Alley to "earn" easy money, or Seymour decided that Walmart deserved a little divine retribution, as he lovingly put it. Wouldn't that be awkward? "Hey, Seymour, sorry, but what the landlord says goes, and Wal--_Kid Flash_ felt the urge to address that gosh-darn forty-percent of crime!"

And now he was going to come back, sulking and defending his honor, trying to make her see his side of things. And because she had signed that stupid contract, she was going to have to listen.

Jinx briefly considered breaking her written word, and immediately rejected the idea when Seymour's voice floated through her head saying, "Spoken word is whatever, but written word is so, totally different. People don't forget that; the proof is always there. It's scary."

She pouted as "Dexter's Laboratory" continued, and Dee Dee pranced about as Dexter fumed. Technically, the contract was sitting on the table just ten feet away from her, and she could tear it up and be out of there before the speeding wonder got back. But she knew by now that he'd follow her, spouting his usual about health and sleeping and _things_.

And the unusual feeling of fullness from the angel hair pasta was making her sleepy.

It was so _frustrating_, leaving an argument hanging. In the HIVE, you pounded something out until it was done and settled and the loser and winner could clearly be discerned.

She awoke to Wally pounding away at something in the kitchen, and the shock of the feeling of well-rest. She looked at the clock and realized she had slept for over eight hours, something simply not done in her world. She kicked herself off the couch and ran into the bathroom.

Sure enough, two seconds later came the knocking and the concerned, "Jaya?"

Jinx groaned. No one called her by name like that. Not even her closest friends, not unless they were deliberately trying to bother her, which meant Seymour had always called her Jaya. Even Billy only dared when they were truly, seriously mad at each other, which didn't even happen half as often as people thought. She grunted quickly to assure him that all was fine and dandy, and began washing her face.

He began knocking again. "Breakfast is waiting."

"I'm coming!" Jinx snapped, rubbing her face raw.

When she got out to the kitchen, Wally was messing with the plates and things in a way that screamed guilty. Before she could even ask, he said, "I'm really sorry I keep cutting off our conversations."

Jaya shrugged carelessly. "Not at all; it's easier. Saves me having to prove you wrong. What are you putting on my plate?"

"Fruit," He said. "Cut into little bits that are not big enough to hide razor blades."

"Thank you," She said, stabbing her fork into a wedge of strawberry. "I'm still right, however."

"What?"

"About forty percent of crime and things."

"Well, I'm still right that people are getting helped, whether or not I'm getting the other sixty percent. If I don't help, then one hundred percent of people aren't getting helped, and that would suck," He took the seat across from her. His plate was piled twice as high, but he was consuming at a rate that made up the difference in their meal sizes. "Do you really know the crime patterns of the locals here?"

"Yes, and I'm not giving you information, so you can drop it now, buster."

"That's not what I meant," He said, sounding wounded. "I'm just taking an interest in your life. You are planning to leave behind your illegal history, aren't you?"

"I hadn't thought about it."

"You made it sound like you were."

"That was not my intention."

"So what is your intention?"

"To finish out my contractual obligations and continue life without your harassment, thank you very much," She said.

Wally polished off his plate and got up to get seconds. "What are your interests? Maybe you could study art."

Jinx snorted as she struggled with another forkful of fruit. "Oh, god, I haven't drawn in ages."

There was a strange silence, and she turned and saw that he was staring at her with something akin to horror. "_Why_?" He asked. "Your drawings are so awesome."

"I have nothing to draw."

"The unicorns--"

"Horses. Please."

"They had horns."

"I'm such a bad artist, those could have been anything. Misplaced scribbles."

"They were very well place misplaced scribbles, and you are a wonderful artist."

"I have no interest in it as a career."

"What is your interest, then?"

"I have no interests. I am a completely uninteresting person."

"That is _not_ true," Wally set down his newly-loaded plate and dug in.

Jinx studied her plate and sighed. "Wallace, I have had a very unfortunate education that has completely and totally burned me out of every possible subject. I hate everything. I have no tolerance for anything."

"I find that very hard to believe."

"And besides, I have pink hair, gray skin, and a rather unfortunate tendency to blow things up to worry about."

"I haven't noticed you blowing things up."

"You haven't been paying attention. I may be boring, but I am entirely subtle."

He laughed. "You just need a break, and fresh perspective. That's what this week is about, isn't it, Jaya?"

She winced around a slice of pineapple. "Hey, could you not call me that?"

His eyes widened in surprise. "Sorry. I mean, I thought we were--"

"We're totally on first-name basis, and it's nothing personal at all. But even my best friends don't call me Jaya, unless they are Seymour and they are trying to pick a fight. Just Jinx is fine."

He nodded slowly. "Okay. Sorry. Last night you said it was fine."

"It's not like I'm trying to blow you off, okay? I'm just not very comfortable with my name. Secret identities and all. I don't like it. Look, you can, like, call me Jaya in your head or something, it's all the same to me."

He laughed. "Jinx, it's okay. That's totally fine by me. But I'd still like it if you called me Wally. It's, uh, what I'm comfortable with."

"Okay."

They ate in relative silence for another minute.

And then his communicator began to buzz in alarm.

He sighed. "Well, at least we weren't in the middle of you proving me wrong. I'll see you later--"

"No you won't. You'll see me now," Jinx scrubbed her fruit-stained mouth with the back of her hand. "I'm coming with you."

"What?" Wally squawked.

"I'm bored, and boring. I'm interested in seeing what you do."

"No. I'm sorry, but no. It's unprofessional, and you'd slow me down--"

"So carry me. I'm barely a feather's weight; unless you're a total wuss, I won't slow you down at all." She glared up at him challengingly. "Or are you a total wuss?"

"You might get hurt--"

"Who do you think you're talking to?"

He sighed. "How about _next_ time?"

"How about _this_ time?"

The glared at each other for another ten seconds before Jinx found herself tossed rather unceremoniously over his shoulder and speeding away.

One might have thought that she was interested in Wally's work, in the hero's side of the action. One would be wrong. The truth was, Jinx had a hankering for action, and without her costume she wasn't going to be getting any anytime soon. She had always been such a big fan of open warfare and the nitty-gritty street was the only place to get it and get it _good_. She had no intention, however, of actually contributing to the fight…

…until she noticed, from her comfy position on the sidelines, thug number three pulling a gun. And instinct kicked in, and she found herself hexing the bejeezes out of the unfortunate thug.

The disturbance of pink hexes flying through the air brought the conflict to a screeching halt, and the police were able to step in and disarm the other guys while Wally carefully and discreetly carried Jinx away before anyone could start asking questions.

Two streets away he slowed down and set her down. "That was exciting," He said brightly. "Thanks for your help."

"Sorry," She said stiffly. "It was just instinct."

"I know! That's why I said _thanks_, Jinx. I didn't even notice that guy."

"You would have. I don't mean to undermine your authority or something. That's not why I wanted to come along."

"It's totally cool, though! I appreciate you watching my back like that," He said, smiling. Jinx scowled hard to remind herself not to return the expression. "So, what do you want to do now?"

The after party. Things like this were supposed to be followed with an after party, with Billy offering to get her alcohol despite the HIVE's agreed drinking age, and Xilo speculating that she wouldn't be much of a drinker anyway. Seymour waving tickets to something or other in her face and asking if she wanted to go to the something or other. Montego grudgingly allowing them to enjoy it. Vito berating himself for tech that hadn't functioned as it was supposed to. Elliot wrapping his arms around her and kissing her on the cheek in a way that wasn't romantic in the slightest because Elliot was just physical like that.

"Jinx?"

She shook her head. "Let's go back to your place."

He scooped her up in his arms in a fashion far more dignified then earlier, and they sped back to his place.

He offered to let her use the shower first, but she shook her head. "You were doing all the physical stuff. You stink more than I do."

He laughed and went into the bathroom. "Be out in a flash!"

"Take your time!" She called after him. "You don't have to speed everywhere."

He turned the water on, and the rush of hot liquid drowned out anything else he might have said. She shrugged halfheartedly at nothing and wandered into the kitchen. She found, to her surprise, that she was vaguely hungry.

Beating up that thug had felt good.

She opened the fridge and began exploring its depths of sustenance.

Beating up that thug had felt _really_ good.

She hadn't truly beat anyone up in almost week, and suddenly she was painfully aware of it.

She had always loved physical activity. Dancing was fun, but fighting was _fulfilling_. Making other people hurt made her feel good in indescribable ways. That was something that had always set her apart from the others at HIVE, believe it or not. They fought because they had to.

She fought because she loved it passionately.

And guiltily. But no more guiltily than Billy smoked or Seymour picked pockets. Those were just things they did, bad or no, because it brought them true pleasure. It was like an obsessive hobby.

An unhealthy one.

* * *

In the shower, Wally was practically glowing. His endorphins were going crazy. His libido wasn't far behind it.

He hadn't had much of a chance to watch Jinx fight before. He hadn't wanted to see that because if Jinx was fighting, it usually meant that she wasn't paying attention to him. But he realized now that all that energy he had had such a horrible, frustrating time unearthing these past few days had just come forth in the form of a very violent action.

The point being that Jinx in butt-kicking mode was a serious turn-on.

He was a little surprised at himself. It was weird to think of her like this, but he couldn't deny what was true. Jinx had never been more beautiful and…and…_herself_ then when she had sent that guy flying across the street.

It was _so good_ to know that energy he had seen in her hadn't been imaginary, as he had been beginning to suspect.

It was frankly a little disturbing to know that it had this kind of effect on him.

Kind of cool, though.


End file.
